The location of the spinal cord injury dictates the parts of the body that are affected. After a complete examination, the doctor will assign a level of injury. The doctor will also determine if the injury is complete or incomplete. The level of injury and function may change; the initial level of injury may not be the same level upon discharge to rehabilitation. It is important to remember that these are general guidelines and that individual outcomes will vary.
Information pathway map
Injury types
Spinal cord injury occurs when the bony protection surrounding the cord is damaged by way of fractures, dislocation, burst; compression, hyperextension or hyperflexion; Some of the resultant types injury go by the terms cauda equina, conus medularis, central and anterior cord syndrome, or Brown-Sequard syndrome.